Wellness wonderland

Country's largest hot springs pool complex coming to Grandscape in The Colony

The pools will range from steaming hot to ice cold.

WorldSprings/Facebook

The newest attraction headed to Grandscape in The Colony is a wellness spa-amusement park: WorldSprings, a nine-acre outdoor mineral springs experience, will debut in spring 2024.

UPDATE 6-20-2024: WorldSprings will open on June 28.
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According to a release, it will be WorldSprings' first location in Texas and the largest experience of its kind in the country.

"With pools inspired by the most famous hot springs from around the world, guests can explore WorldSprings’ 45 outdoor soaking pools including cold-plunge pools, Finnish saunas, and a spa which will include wellness therapies as well as a cafe and bar," says the release.

Specific highlights of the experience will include:

The Family Pool, the Dead Sea Float Pool and South Pacific Region mineral pools for all ages
The Asiatic, European, and Americas region mineral pools for those 18 years old and up
More pools, with temperatures that range from warm to hot and from cool to ice cold
The Spa, with a menu of body treatments and massages
The Sanctuary, offering sound baths and yoga, breathwork, and guided meditation classes
Aqua classes, including Aqua Aerobics, Aqua Sculpt, Aqua Yoga and Aqua Float
Performance-enhancing treatments including cryotherapy, hyperbaric chambers, and compression therapy
WorldSprings Café, from which guests can order food and drinks poolside with their smartphones and pay with a wristband

WorldSprings Grandscape The Colony There'll be adults-only pools and family-friendly pools.Rendering courtesy of WorldSprings

The wellness offerings were created by WorldSprings' in-house functional medicine practitioner, Dr. Sara Gottfried, the release says.

Of course, there are not actual hot springs located beneath Grandscape. Each pool will be "meticulously crafted to mirror the mineral content of legendary springs from around the world," explains WorldSprings.

Memberships and three-hour passes will be available, "priced for all to enjoy as a weekly ritual for well-being," they say, although pricing has not yet been disclosed. A limited number of discounted Founding Memberships will be available starting early next year.

”Our ambition is that WorldSprings will democratize wellness by opening locations throughout the country,” says Rob Kramer, managing partner of WorldSprings' owner Off Road Capital, in the release.

The Dallas-area park follows locations in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, and a similar concept in La Verkin, Utah, near Zion National Park.

Anticipated opening date is March 2024.

WorldSprings Grandscape A spa will offer massages and body treatments.Rendering courtesy of WorldSprings

WorldSprings Grandscape will be at 3240 Plano Pkwy., The Colony, joining the booming 433-acre center that includes not only shopping and dining but an escape room, immersive entertainment venue, amphitheater, and more.

"Bringing WorldSprings to this ideal location is a remarkable milestone,” says Justin Foley, general manager of the upcoming Grandscape location, in the release. “As general manager, I'm honored and excited to be a part of such an amazing community and to unveil an exclusive outdoor mineral springs experience – a first of its kind destination in Texas."

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Media News

Pushy investment firm increases offer price on Dallas Morning News

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Dallas Morning News

An investment firm is circling back to try and acquire the Dallas Morning News: MNG Enterprises, Inc., an affiliate of Alden Global Capital, a New York investment firm that is into buying up newspapers, has increased its offer to purchase DallasNews Corporation to $18.50 per share, which they note is higher than a competing offer that the DMN has already accepted.

On July 10, parent company DallasNews Corporation announced that The Dallas Morning News would be acquired by New York-based Hearst, joining a portfolio of 28 daily and 50 weekly newspapers, for $15 per share in cash.

But on July 22, MNG Enterprises, Inc. made a competing offer. Alden owns more than 200 newspapers including the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the New York Daily News, and the Denver Post, and has subsequently shrunk newsrooms with cutbacks and buyouts.

The Dallas Morning News has already clarified that they wish to go with Hearst, but Alden is persisting.

A statement from MNG says that they've made proposals to address the concerns of Dallas Morning News majority stockholder Robert Decherd, which have been ignored; and cit their track record for "sustaining quality journalism" as well as their recent acquisition of six newspapers in Northern California from Sonoma Media Investments.

That acquisition followed a similar scenario: Sonoma Media Investments was expected to sell its portfolio — consisting of the Press Democrat, the Sonoma Index Tribune, the Petaluma Argus Courier, the Sonoma County Gazette, La Prensa Sonoma, the North Bay Business Journal, and Sonoma Magazine — to Hearst. But at the last minute, Alden came in with a higher offer.

According to the Sonoma Sun, after the Alden purchase was announced, all newsroom staff were offered buyouts — a standard Alden strategy, usually followed by staff layoffs. According to an NPR report by David Folkenflik, a former reporter at the Baltimore Sun, which is now owned by Alden, a NewsGuild union study covering a six-year period found that Alden cut staff at Guild-represented newspapers by an average of 75 percent.

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